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Recognition of same-sex unions in Uganda

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Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
  13. ^ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
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Uganda does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Constitution of Uganda forbids same-sex marriage, having been modified in 2005 to state that "marriage between persons of the same sex is prohibited."[1]

Historical and customary recognition

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See also: LGBTQ history in Uganda

While many modern-day Ugandan cultures historically practiced polygamy, there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in those cultures. However, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.[2] The Lango people traditionally recognised mudoko dako, individuals assigned male at birth but who are treated and considered by Lango society to be women, and could marry men. British anthropologist Jack Herbert Driberg reported in 1923 that they were "rare", but some of his Lango informants told him that the mudoko dako were "very common" among groups to the east, specially the Teso and Karamojong peoples. Jeremy Lawrance stated in the 1950s that among the Teso "people of hermaphroditic instincts are very numerous... The men are impotent and have the instincts of women and become women to all intents and purposes; their voices are feminine and their manner of walking and of speech is feminine. They shave their heads like a woman and wear women's ornaments and clothing. They do women's work and take women's names." However, he wrote that he knew "no cases in which they live with men as a 'wife'".[3][4][5]

In Buganda, one of the largest traditional kingdoms in Uganda, certain forms of same-sex relations were institutionalised. Young men served in the royal courts and provided sexual services for visitors and elites. It was an open secret that Mwanga II, who ruled in the latter half of the 19th century, was bisexual.[6] All these practices gradually disappeared as Uganda became more modernized and exposed to Western culture and homophobia in the 20th century.[3]

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Same-sex sexual activity legal
  Same-sex marriage
  Limited recognition (foreign residency rights)
  No recognition of same-sex couples
Same-sex sexual activity illegal
  Prison but not enforced
  Prison
  Death penalty on books but not enforced
  Enforced death penalty

Background

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Same-sex sexual relations are outlawed under a colonial-era law inherited when Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire. This law, which Uganda retained upon independence, was further amended by several pieces of legislation, including the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, which severely restricts freedom of speech on LGBT topics and stipulates the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality". This law prescribes up to twenty years' imprisonment for the "promotion of homosexuality", and life imprisonment for consensual, private sexual relations between people of the same sex.[7] LGBT rights are greatly restricted in the country, with gays and lesbians experiencing severe societal and legal discrimination.[8]

Restrictions

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The Marriage Act, 1904 (Swahili: Sheria ya Ndoa, 1904;[a] Chapter 146) does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages and does not contain a definition of marriage. However, it generally refers to married spouses as "husband" and "wife". This law arguably showed Uganda anticipated recognising only opposite-sex marriages.[9] As a result, same-sex couples cannot marry in Uganda and do not have access to the legal rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, including protection from domestic violence, adoption rights, tax benefits and inheritance rights, among others. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 provides ten years' imprisonment for individuals entering a same-sex marriage.[10] The law was passed by the Parliament of Uganda in March 2023, and eventually assented by President Museveni in April. Civil unions, which would offer a subset of the rights and benefits of marriage, are likewise not recognised in Uganda.

On 29 September 2005, President Yoweri Museveni signed a constitutional amendment into law explicitly prohibiting same-sex marriage.[11] Article 31(2a) states:[1]

Marriage between persons of the same sex is prohibited.[b]

Previously, the Constitution did not explicitly forbid same-sex marriages.[12] Article 31(3) states that "marriage shall be entered into with the free consent of the man and woman intending to marry." Further, Article 31(1) holds that "a man and a woman are entitled to marry only if they are each of the age of eighteen years and above and are entitled at that age to found a family; and to equal rights at and in marriage, during marriage, and at its dissolution."[1]

Religious performance

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The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans, a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples.[13] The Uganda Episcopal Conference condemned the declaration, issuing a statement that "the blessing which the Declaration says could be given to everyone refers to prayers that people may request for. For those in the state of sin, the prayers are meant to lead them to conversion. Therefore, the prayers for persons in same-sex relationships are not intended to legitimize their way of life, but to lead them on the path of conversion."[14][15][16]

The Church of Uganda, part of the Anglican Communion, is strongly opposed to same-sex unions. Bishops Stephen Kaziimba and Stanley Ntagali expressed support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.[17] In 2013, Ntagali disapproved of the Church of England's decision to allow clergy in civil partnerships to become bishops. He said, "It is very discouraging to hear that the Church of England, which once brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Uganda, has taken such a significant step away from that very gospel that brought life, light, and hope to us."[18] In 2023, Kaziimba criticized the Church of England's decision to allow clergy to bless same-sex civil marriages.[19]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In some regional languages of Uganda:
  2. ^ Swahili: Ndoa za watu wa jinsia moja ni marufuku.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Constitution of the Republic of Uganda", www.constituteproject.org, retrieved 21 April 2025 – via WIPO Lex
  2. ^ Spurlin, William J. (2006). Imperialism Within the Margins: Queer Representation and the Politics of Culture in Southern Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403983664.
  3. ^ a b Okwenna, Chrysogonus (2021). "Homosexuality in Traditional Africa". Obademi Awolowo University Press.
  4. ^ "The Mugwe: Homosexuality among the Meru People". Kumbukumbu. 18 February 2020.
  5. ^ Murray, Stephen O.; Roscoe, Will (2021). Boy-Wives and Female Husbands (PDF). SUNY Press.
  6. ^ Rao, Rahul (2015). "Re-membering Mwanga: same-sex intimacy, memory and belonging in postcolonial Uganda". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 9 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1080/17531055.2014.970600.
  7. ^ Nyanzi, Stella; Karamagi, Andrew (2015). "The social-political dynamics of the anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda". Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity. 29 (1 [103]): 24–38. doi:10.1080/10130950.2015.1024917. ISSN 1013-0950. JSTOR 43825974. Special issue: 'Non-normative' sexual and gender diversities in Africa.
  8. ^ Reid & Meerkotter, G. & A. (4 August 2015). "Africa Ruling Move LGBT Rights Forward". Jurist. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Marriage Act". ULII. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  10. ^ Basalirwa, Asuman (3 March 2023). "Bills Supplement No. 3" (PDF). The Uganda Gazette. CXVI (16). Entebbe: Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation.
  11. ^ International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (13 October 2005). "IGLHRC Condem[n]s Uganda's Targeting of Lesbians and Gay Men; Calls Ban on Same-Sex Marriage 'Legislative Overkill'" (Press release). New York: IGLHRC. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022 – via Outright International.
  12. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995" (PDF). Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  13. ^ Flynn, JD (2023-12-22). "Is the 'false narrative' narrative a false narrative?". The Pillar. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  14. ^ "10 Episcopal Conferences In Africa Respond To Fiducia Supplicans". CCR Nigeria. 23 December 2023.
  15. ^ Coppen, Luke (19 December 2023). "'Fiducia supplicans': Who's saying what?". The Pillar.
  16. ^ "In Nigeria and Much of Africa, Catholic Same-Sex Couples See No Blessings Soon". U.S. News. 29 December 2023.
  17. ^ Davies, Madeleine. "Archbishop of Uganda takes Welby to task over criticism of anti-homosexuality law". Church Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Ntagali attacks Church of England over gay bishops". www.newvision.co.ug. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Church of England's blessings of same-sex couples sparks anger among Anglican churches in Uganda, Kenya". The Washington Blade. 17 February 2023.
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